21/11/2013 Riga supermarket roof collapse
Background events The building its self Riga's local media had stated on November 22nd that the building, which was rented from Re&Re, had been awarded a national architecture prize after its completion in 2011. A garden and outdoor recreational park was being built on the supermarket's roof as of November 2013. The building's plans had been developed by developed by Homburg Valda and cost around €1.4 million. The companies involved The 21 year old Maxima Group supermarket chain is a Lithuanian retail chain with shops in all three Baltic states, Poland and Bulgaria. There were recent plans to set up a few outlets in near by places in Russia. The building was rented from the constructors Re&Re. The disaster The event its self Riga's new Maxima supermarket in the Zolitūde district's Priedaines street started to collapse at about 16:20 UTC on November 21st, 2013, as rain collected in a partly built roof garden. It was planned that it would have a layer of soil 20–30 centimeters (7.9–12 in) thick on the roof. According to witnesses accounts a fire alarm was set off and there were announcements made that the store should be evacuated at 16:21. Shortly afterward, security personnel canceled the alert and blamed welding works in the basement, which was not possible due to the nature of the fire alarm according to its manufacturer. The company's spokesman said that dust probably did not set it off, because it was situated in the basement by water pipes. It was never resolved by the firms technician due to the sores subsequent collapse. About 15 minutes later, a loud bang was heard, and water began flowing from a broken overhead fire sprinkler pipe. Suddenly the electrically operated glass doors also slammed shut, but not shattering the glass panes with in them as some initial reports claimed, as the first section of the roof caved. About 20 minutes later another part of the roof caved in killing 3 firemen who had just joined the rescue effort. Sections of the wall have continued to collapse during the evening, further disrupting ongoing rescue efforts. Witnesses had reported that the roof collapsed over the checkout counters. Latvian television and radio also reported that the roof also had collapsed over the dairy products and fish sections. The city's rescue services believed, as of 19.30 UTC on November 22nd, that a total of about 500sq m (5,300sq ft) of roof caved in. The 27 year old British pilot Paul Tribble, was shopping in the store and survived the incident. The Maxima board member Gintaras Jasinskas had told the AFP news agency on Nov' 22 that 30 employees were in the store at the time of the original collapse. The store became a 1,500 square meter (16,150 square feet) big pile of rubble. The rescue effort 40 Latvian troops and some bulldozers from the army camp at Ādaži joined in the rescue efforts in the evening of Nov' 22nd. Rescue co-coordinators stated late on Nov' 23rd that “Rescue teams are working in shifts replacing each other every 20-30 minutes as the rescue work is physically challenging.". Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs ordered and official investigation and tweeted that around five people might be still trapped, but rescue teams reckoned it was or 16 by 18.00 UTC on the 22rd. Ambulance chief Armands Plorins warned on the afternoon of Nov' 23rd that a combination of the cold, damp and the passage of time would slowly reduce chances of survival, but added "But, of course, hope always remains." Police helped rescuers by created a map based on data taken from security cameras that were showing where the shoppers located at during the tragic collapse. Hospitals involved *Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital *Riga East Clinical university hospital *Riga Second hospital, and Traumatology and Orthopedic hospital. *Clinical University Hospital for children. Possible causes Latvia's Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, who visited the scene on Nov' 22nd, said: "The criminal process has started about violating building standards." Later Latvia's Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis stated to Latvian TV that it was “It is clear that there has been a problem with fulfillment of construction requirements,” to him that there there had been a problem concerning the lack of obedience to building regulations. Local resident Gatis Smagars blamed "Bags of soil and cobblestones piled on the roof" on Nov 21st. The aftermath Political fall out A criminal investigation was launched late on Nov' 21st and a day of national morning was declared. Some local officials have indicated that the roof garden was possibly illegal and put extra stress on the roof. The Mayor of Riga, Nils Usakovs, abandoned his holiday and returned to Riga on Nov' 22. He gave an order on November 22nd that safety officials to inspect all building projects carried out by Re&Re. There waswere 3 days of morning in all 3 Baltic States starting on the 23rd. Death toll It is apparently worst disaster in Latvia since the 1950 sinking of the steamer in Riga which resulted in the deaths of 147 people. The Leta news agency said it was known to be more delay than a fire at a Latvian nursing home in 2007 which had killed killed 25 people. The city's rescue services believe that at least 36 people were injured, of which 33 are being treated in hospital. They reckoned that there was at least 54 are deaths (51 Latvians, 2 Russians and 1 Armenian), but only 47 were confirmed to be deceased as of that 19.45 UTC on November 23rd. Overseas aid Russia has offered rescue teams and equipment. Other cases #On 28 May 2009, Jaya Supermarket collapsed while being torn down for redevelopment, killing at least 7 Indonesian laborers and injuring an unspecified number of people. #On February 2, 2011, a portion of the roof of Donelan's Supermarket collapsed, but fortunately no one was inside at the time. #Supermarket Roof Collapse in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada on April 1988. Thankfully, no one was killed, but 21 people were injured. Map Category:Companies Category:Disasters Category:Riga